The real Monsorates

Nigel Britto

Ronnie Monsorate is a man of many talents. Pianist, singer, bandleader and arranger, in the limelight or behind the scenes, the portly, bespectacled Monsorate can step into any or all these roles and perform them like only he can. He comes from one of Goa’s, and India’s, most successful families of jazz; his father Peter Monsorate, the brightest trumpeting star that ever shone over this country, was called the Harry James of India. Thus, it is no surprise that five of his sons, Ronnie among them, now form the Monsorate Brothers. What is a surprise, of course, is that the magnificent Big Band’s concert this Saturday will be its first on Goan soil.

Apart from playing only their second gig together in nearly 30 years (the first was this May near Amsterdam), the band showcases a unique sub-genre of jazz that was popular in the 1930s and is nearly defunct now—The Big Band. Ronnie, a Duke Ellington of sorts with a Louis Armstrong-esque vocal box, leads the pack; his brothers Joe and Bosco play the trumpet, Blasco the trombone, and Rex the drums. Curiously, their two other brothers, Octavious and Clareto, were also musicians in the 80s before switching careers and moving abroad. These days, bass guitarist Steve Frances and saxophone player Shyam Lal usually accompany the Monsorate Brothers.

The brothers, who normally perform individually, rose during the vibrant hotel jazz scene in the 70s, alongside now-iconic names such as Braz Gonsalves, Dennis Rosario, Charlie Shephard and others. In 1978, the year of the first Jazz Yatra, Joseph and Bosco were part of the big band formed by US trumpeter Clark Terry. However, as was the norm then, the Monsorates diversified from jazz and teamed up for world tours with a series of film industry veterans such as R D Burman, Lata Mangeshkar, Illayaraja and Bappi Lahiri, Laxikant Parallel, Kishore Kumar, and much later, contemporary stars like A R Rahman and Adnan Sami. Through their Bollywood years, the Brothers remained faithful flag-bearers of the Big Band genre, a kind of jazz musical ensemble which was popular during the Swing Era; it usually consists of reed, wind, rhythm and vocal sections.  While smaller bands that play conventional jazz music usually improvise and spontaneously create the music, Big Band music is heavily ‘arranged’, or prepared beforehand and notated on sheet music. Typically, improvisation or solos are played only when the arranger calls for them.

The versatile Ronnie Monsorate is also widely credited for orchestrating and arranging Goan superstar Lorna Cordeiro’s return to the music world after nearly quarter of a century of self-imposed exile; he directed her highly acclaimed comeback album, Hello Lorna. Incidentally, the ‘Rain or Shine, Konkani Rocks’ banner under which Saturday’s concert is being held, had another concert in July last year, which Lorna, accompanied two of the Monsorates, Bosco and Blasco,   headlined. Remo Fernandes too had joined in the fun, singing ‘Bebdo’ with Lorna to the delight of the thousand-odd fans.

The Monsorate Brothers’ reunion this Saturday is to celebrate World Goa Day, August 20, which, since 2000, has celebrated Goan culture and music throughout the diaspora. Founder Rene Baretto, a London-based Goan, told TOI that his aim in starting it was to “unite Goans across the world, under one banner. The date was chosen because it was the day Konkani was included in the Eigth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Interestingly, the Monsorates won’t be the only ones paying tribute to their motherland at Gonsalves Mansion this Saturday. They will be accompanied by well-known local musicials such as Olavo Rodrigues, fadista Sonia Sirsat, Varun Carvalho, Veeam Braganza and others.

This article was first published in The Times of India, Goa, in its edition dated August 19, 2011.